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Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens, track and feild start, became an American hero after an outstanding performance at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin Germany. Jesse won gold medals in the long jump, 100 meter dash, and200 meter dash. He also took home a fourth gold medal for running in the opening leg for the U.S. team that won the 4x100 meter relay. -
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African Americans in Sports Greatest Moments
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Jackie Robinson
Was the first African American to play Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers.He batted .297, led the league in stolen bases, and was named the National League Rookie of the Year. Most importantly he broke the color barier and opened the door for many other black athletes to play professional baseball on the same stage as white athletes. -
Althea Gibson
Althea became the first black woman to play at the U.S. Nationals. She advanced to the second round and showed many ignorant tennis fans that African Americans belonged on the tennis court.She won 11 grand slams including 5 singles titles, two at the Championships in 1957 and 1958 In 1957 she won the U.S. Nationals and Wimbledon, and was welcomed home with a ticker tape parade in New York. -
Willie O'Ree
Willie O'Ree made history when he stepped on the ice to play for the Boston Bruins in 1958. Willie was the first African American to play hockey in the National Hockey League. Though he only played two seasons because of an eye injury his participation in the sport opened the door for many African Americans in this sport with another one being Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames. -
Ernie Davis
Ernie Davis was the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy back when he played for Syracuse University. In 1979 Davis won the Most Valuable Player title in both the Cotton and Libert Bowls and was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame. He also was the first African American picked first in the overall NFL draft. -
Muhammad Ali
Ali was the first boxer to win the heavy weight title three times. In 1964 Ali won his first title as Cassius Clay, by defeating Sonny Liston in the first ten minutes of round one in a rematch for the heavy weight title. In 1967 Ali was stripped of his title for refusing to serve in the U.S. Army because of his religious beliefs. In1974 he regained his title by knocking George Foreman out in the eighth round in Zaire in the Famous "Rumble in the Jungle." In 1978 he took the title again. -
Michael Jordan's Legacy
In Jordan's college days at the University of North Carolina won the NCAA Divivision I Championships with Jordan scoring the last point against Georgetown University. 1983-1984 he was singled out as the NCAA's college player of the year. In Considered one of the best basketball players of all time dominated the sport from the mid 80's to the late 90's. He led the Chicago Bulls to six National Championships and was awarded Most Valuable Player in the National Basketball Assosiation five times. -
Tiger Woods
On this day Tiger Woods won the U.S. Master's in Augusta, Georgia with a record score of 12 strokes at the age of 21.It was Wood's first win a major golf championship. He made history because he was the youngest man and first African American to earn the title. Recently in 2012 Woods won the AT&T National becoming the second-leading golfer for PGA wins beating Jack Nicklau's long held record for the spot. -
Vonetta Flowers
Former track star turned Olympic bobsledder made history at the Salt Lake City games in 2002, by becoming the first black athlete (male or female) from any country to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. Vonetta's gold medal will hopefully inspire future black athletes to become more involved in winter sport games. -
Gabby Douglas
On this day Douglass became the first African American to win gold at the 2012 Olypmic London games by winning in the individual all around event. She also won a second gold medal with her teamates Aly Raisman, Kayla Ross, McKalay Marchey, and Jordan Wieber.
